Find more funding with PafGUIDE

FAQ's

• Eligibility

  Is PafGUIDE right for my organisation?

  Yes, if your organisation is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient Item 1 (DGR1), also known as a “doing DGR”, and therefore eligible to receive distributions from a Private or Public Ancillary Fund, also known as a “giving DGR” (DGR2). For more information on DGR status, visit the Australian Business Register webpage here.

  How do I check if my organisation has DGR1 status?

  The easiest way to check if your organisation is endorsed as a DGR1 entity is to use ABN Lookup to search your organisation’s Australian Business Number (ABN), or you can also search by name. In the Historical Details tab, scroll down to the ‘Deductible gift recipient status’ section to check the item number (if any):

  

  If your organisation is not an Endorsed DGR Item 1 and you would like to check your eligibility, visit the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) webpage here.

  What if my organisation does not have DGR1 status?

  As a non-DGR, your organisation may still be able to receive distributions from Private and Public Ancillary Funds through a DGR that operates to provide funding to other organisations, such as Creative Partnerships Australia (Arts), Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (Community), Australian Schools Plus (Education), or Australian Sports Foundation (Sports). For more information on fundraising for non-DGRs, visit the ATO webpage here.

• Information

  Does PafGUIDE include every PAF?

  Yes! PafGUIDE includes every single Private Ancillary Fund (PAF) that is registered in Australia — even those that do not appear on the ACNC Charity Register (approximately 50%). Each month, we do a check for newly established funds using Australian Business Register data and we crosscheck this data against the PafGUIDE data to determine the funds that have been cancelled. The research team then adds new funds and updates existing funds in the database.

  Does PafGUIDE include other trusts and foundations?

  In 2019, our research team commenced the project of adding every Public Ancillary Fund (PuAF) into PafGUIDE. The addition of Public Ancillary Funds to PafGUIDE has close to doubled the number of funds in the database and significantly increased the chances for our subscribers to access opportunities for funding.

  Where is the information in PafGUIDE sourced from?

  All information in the PafGUIDE database comes from publicly-available and pay-for-content sources. After utilising online tools by Australian Business Register (ABN Lookup), Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC Charity Register), and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC Connect), the majority of research time is spent scouring as many digital and hardcopy resources as are available, such as annual reports, social media, rich lists, and so on, to gather as much information as possible for every single fund. The result is an aggregated (by a human!) profile for each fund and a complete database of every PAF and PuAF.

  How up-to-date is the information in PafGUIDE?

  Along with the monthly check for new and cancelled funds, our research team works daily through a cycle of every fund in the database from least recently updated. The Suggest an Edit or Update button at the bottom of each fund entry allows subscribers to send an email request to the research team to prioritise the updating of a fund, and we will usually action the request within 48 hours. This ensures our subscribers have the ability to access the most up-to-date information possible as our team keeps track of all PAFs and PuAFs in Australia.

  How comprehensive is the information in PafGUIDE?

  A researcher will spend anywhere between 2 hours to a full day researching to add or update a fund entry in the PafGUIDE database. The profile of a fund includes (depending on the level of information available) Fund Name, Fund Type, Financial Info, ABN, Entity Type, Date of Effect, Funding Categories, Geographic Scope of Funding, Contact Details, Address Details, Directors, and About the Fund, including Philanthropic Track Record (gift type, amount, year, and recipient), Application Process, Director Biographies, and Capacity Indicators, along with any other information, such as the personal giving history and wealth indicators of the Directors, that might help your organisation assess the fit of the fund to your cause and community. So, very comprehensive!

  Are there other resources like PafGUIDE?

  PafGUIDE remains the only database that includes every single PAF with each one individually and comprehensively researched. PafGUIDE has been an ongoing project since 2009 when our team started researching what was then known as Prescribed Private Funds (PPFs). It is great to see a number of other databases since established for the purpose of providing information on grants, donations, etc., and it is useful to utilise multiple resources for your fundraising; these other databases might include some PAFs, but only those that appear on the ACNC Charity Register, which means around half are missing! PafGUIDE is the only complete database of Private Ancillary Funds in Australia.

• Features

  

  How does the PafGUIDE search bar work? 

  The free-text search bar helps you find funds that mention a particular keyword or keywords, such as “Mental Health”, “Housing”, “Multiple Sclerosis”, and so on. The search bar also facilitates fund names, director names, postcodes, and contact details (emails, website, and phone number) and will search throughout the entire fund entry so that you can find linkages with the fund as well as the people involved.

  • To search multiple words, type them side by side, e.g. medical research — to show funds that mention both “medical” and “research”
  • To search exact phrases, use double quotation marks, e.g. “medical research” — to show funds that mention “medical research” specifically
  • To search for a combination of single or multiple words and exact phrases, use the same rules as above, e.g. “medical research” children — to show funds that mention both “medical research” and “children”

  
  What options are there to sort and filter funds in PafGUIDE?

  There are many ways to filter funds in the database, including by:

  • Type: Private Ancillary Fund or Public Ancillary Fund
  • Distributions: Australia and/or Internationally (using latest financial report data if available)
  • Categories: Animal Welfare, Cultural Organisations, Defence, Disability, Education, Elderly, Environment, Fire and Emergency, Health, Indigenous, Industry, International Aid, Medical, Men, Religion, Research, Sports and Recreation, Trade and Design, Welfare, Women, and Youth
  • Scope of Funding: States/Territories in Australia and/or Overseas (where the funding is going to)
  • Date of Effect: From and/or To (the date endorsed or cancelled as a PAF or PuAF)
  • Location: State or Territory in Australia (where the fund is registered)
  • Status: Active, Inactive, or Cancelled
  • Search Exclusions: Applications Not Accepted, Application Process Unknown, Institutionally Related Funds, Nationwide Funds

  The Recently Added tab allows you to easily see the funds that have been newly published in PafGUIDE. This tab includes all the search functions and filters as the main search (All Funds tab), which means you can run a search through only the Recently Added funds.

  How do I track potential funding opportunities in PafGUIDE?

  The Favourite Funds feature allows you to keep track of funds that are of particular interest to your organisation as potential prospects for your cause. You can ‘favourite’/’star’ funds either in the list view or within the individual fund entry. These funds will appear in your Favourite Funds tab, and this tab includes all the search functions and filters as in the main search (All Funds tab), which means you can have hundreds of favourited funds and be able to sort and filter the list. PafGUIDE subscribers can also opt-in to receive Email Notifications every time one of their favourited funds is updated by our research team by going to Account settings.

  To help you save time and keep lists of funds that meet particular search criteria, the Saved Searches features allows you to save a particular search bar and/or filter search along with the fund results in the Saved Searches tab (and any funds that are published in the database will be added to the Saved Searches results if they meet the conditions of the Saved Search).

  Does PafGUIDE include a grants calendar and funding round dates?

  The PafGUIDE research team have found that only around 7% of the total number of Private and Public Ancillary Funds have grant rounds or a formal application process that is made known and accessible to the public. PafGUIDE subscribers can search for these 250 or so funds by using the Search Exclusions filter to remove funds that don’t accept applications, have an unknown application process, or that are a set up to support a single organisation (Institutionally Related Funds). The funds that have a formal application process will include an Application Process section with details on how to submit an enquiry, expression of interest, or application for funding, and will often include a link to further information, criteria, or an online application form.

  PAFs are all about the people; they are not simply grant-giving entities — they are couples, families, friends, businesses, and community groups, and happen to be among some of the wealthiest and most generous in Australia — and they are to be treated like major gift prospects, backed by a major gift strategy and solicitation process.

• Cost

  How much does PafGUIDE cost?

  Your organisation can access the PafGUIDE database through a single-user (1 login) subscription for $2,699+GST/year or a multi-user (up to 6 logins) subscription for $3,799+GST/year via credit card or invoice. There is also the option to pay monthly via credit card at $249+GST/month for single-user or $349+GST/month for multi-user. Just think, you only need to receive one small gift from a PAF or PuAF to cover the cost of accessing this unique database of wealthy giving structures! (You might qualify for a discount if you are a small organisation — please contact [email protected] for a discount code.)

  Is it possible to have more than 6 logins?

  We can arrange a custom multi-user subscription if you require more than 6 logins. A single login can only be used by the nominated user on any one device at a time, so your organisation will need multiple logins if you have a large team who need to access the database simultaneously and to give each team member the ability to keep their own list of Favourite Funds and Saved Searches.

  Is there a minimum subscription period?

  Yes, an initial 12 months, after which your subscription will renew automatically and continue annually or monthly depending on your subscription type and unless cancelled. Please see the full Terms & Conditions here.